by Judy Keen, USA TODAY

by Judy Keen, USA TODAY

PEORIA, Ill. - Nikkos Clark had been out of prison for a few months and was on parole when he was told last December to attend a meeting at the Civic Center here.

He was wary, but he was introduced that day to Don't Shoot, a program meant to deter gun violence.

A couple of days after that "call-in," Clark, 24, called organizers and said he wanted help. Now he's enrolled in weatherization installation classes through a local jobs program and is determined to change his life for himself and his 2-year-old son.

"You've got to want to change," says Clark, a former gang member who was convicted of a felony gun charge and acquitted of murder.

Peoria decided to implement Don't Shoot last year after officials concluded that the city needed a fresh approach to gangs, drugs and gun violence. The program is based on the 2011 book Don't Shoot: One Man, a Street Fellowship and the End of Violence in Inner-City America by David Kennedy. He is director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Kennedy's approach is used in dozens of cities. In High Point, N.C., it has reduced violent crime by 53%.

Peoria officials used Kennedy's template to fashion a program they hope will work here. They're doing it with funds donated by local businesses - their application for a $300,000 Justice Department grant was denied - and the collaboration of Mayor Jim Ardis, the U.S. attorney, state's attorney, police chief, sheriff, social service groups and many others.

The Don't Shoot concept: a zero-tolerance attitude toward gang and gun violence coupled with outreach to get offenders to give up crime and spread the message through their communities. In exchange, offenders who are on parole or probation get access to job, health and addiction assistance.

Twenty-nine people attended the gathering in December, where they heard tough messages from police and prosecutors and the stories of crime victims. They saw photos of murder victims' corpses, and an emergency-room doctor displayed images of the effects of bullets on human bodies.

After the session, 11 participants asked to be part of Don't Shoot; since then, 10 more ex-offenders have gotten involved, says Krista McCavitt, the police department's community service coordinator.

In January, one participant was arrested for aggravated kidnapping.

"We needed to do something," Ardis says. The message from the community was clear, he says: "We're fed up with this rising crime rate."

The city had 23 murders in 2010 and 10 in 2012.

To involve the entire community, Ardis asked residents to read Kennedy's book last year. Free copies were available at the library.

Billboards and signs on buses feature a child's face and the words "You're killing me." Carl Cannon, founder of ELITE, a youth program, takes the message to middle and high schools.

"We just got together and said, 'We've got to do this,' " says Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard. Because the community is paying for the program itself, he says, it won't meet the fate of many anti-violence efforts tied to grants and their requirements: "When the money runs out, the players run out," he says.

U.S. Attorney Jim Lewis says quelling gun violence will save money in the long run. "What does it cost the community to have more and more people shot up?" he asks.

State's Attorney Jerry Brady says the average cost of a single homicide is $8 million, including medical, social and incarceration spending. The Don't Shoot message is being taken to the jails, he says.

Settingsgaard calls the effort "our mission." Ardis hopes he'll one day be able to call his city the safest in Illinois.

Police officers Aaron Watkins and Erin Barisch, members of the unit charged with making Don't Shoot work, hope it means they'll see less violence on the streets.

"It's our responsibility," Watkins says, "to extend the connection to the community and require the community to step up."